Swansea 1 Arsenal 2: Ramsey and Gnabry give Wenger some room at the top

Aaron Ramsey revelled on the green, green grass of home to ensure Arsenal regained their place at the summit of the English game.

The 22-year-old Welshman, in the form of his life, scored his eighth goal in nine appearances to ensure Arsenal would profit from the defeats inflicted on Manchester United and Manchester City.

With Tottenham held to a draw by Chelsea, Arsene Wenger will celebrate his 17th anniversary as Arsenal manager this week two points clear at the top of the Premier League — and with a feeling of immense satisfaction.

Wenger has never forsaken his
principles, never lost belief in his ability to build another team to
challenge for the title, even though Arsenal have not won a trophy for
eight years. He knows these are merely the first steps to becoming a
force in the land again, but the journey has at least started to gain
credibility.

After German
teenager Serge Gnabry gave them the lead in the 58th minute, Ramsey
struck four minutes later to provide the cushion to withstand a spirited
fightback from Swansea that culminated in an 82nd-minute goal from
left-back Ben Davies. By then, Arsenal had enough in hand.

Clearly,
there is much mutual respect between Wenger and Brian Laudrup. These
are two men, at the opposite ends of their managerial careers, with a
like-minded way of how the game should be played. At all times, the ball
is to be treated like a precious jewel; lose possession at your peril.

As a consequence, we waited until injury-time at the end of the opening
half for the first meaningful moment of danger, when Gnabry, 18, showed
the confidence to spring a break from the middle of Swansea’s half.

Growing
to relish the responsibility placed in him by Wenger to fill the vacuum
created by an injury to Theo Walcott, Gnabry burst through a crowd of
white-shirted defenders caught flat-footed by his pace. He released the
ball with perfect timing into the stride of Olivier Giroud, only for the
France striker to drag his shot wide of the far post.

Perhaps
Giroud could claim that he was still shaking off the after-effects of a
bruising challenge moments earlier from Jordi Amat, deputising for the
injured Ashley Williams at the heart of Swansea’s defence. But Giroud’s
body language, as his shot whistled wide, revealed his disappointment at
wasting the one first-half chance.

Can Arsenal win the league?

This
was an evening of football as a chess match. For Arsenal, Ramsey was
central to most moves. He was available at all times to take receipt of
the ball.

Occasionally,
there was a touch or a turn from Mesut Ozil that hinted at the damage he
is capable of perpetrating, as befits a man who cost £42.5million from
Real Madrid. His, of course, was the transfer that implied Arsenal are
once more a club to be reckoned with.

For Swansea, Jonjo Shelvey showed the energy and work-rate that prompted Laudrup to purchase him from Liverpool for £5m.

No! Michu is not happy with a refereeing decision and falls to his knees

Yet
Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was unemployed until a moment of
carelessness almost cost him dearly. His first touch, when he received a
backpass from Ramsey in the first half, allowed the ball to roll
enticingly close to Michu. The striker attempted to keep the ball in
play after winning a race with the goalkeeper — but a linesman flagged
that it had crossed the deadball line, so the attempted shot from Wayne
Routledge, that flashed across an unguarded goal, would not have
counted.

The match was to be
seized by Arsenal in four decisive minutes after the interval. Gnabry
struck the first blow, showing a maturity that belies his age. Jack
Wilshere, a far greater influence on the game after the break, combined
with Ramsey to create an opening for the teenager and Gnabry fired the
ball into the far corner without a second invitation.

Height mismatch: Nathan Dyer tries to trick his way past Per Mertesacker

Hunted down: Olivier Giroud is tracked by Jonjo Shelvey as he tries to make progress

Four
minutes later, Wilshere inspired the counter-attack that amounted to
checkmate for Wenger. The England midfielder won the ball from Jonathan
de Guzman on the left and transferred it to Giroud, before Ramsey
ghosted on to the Frenchman’s right shoulder to take a short pass and
bury it in the top right-hand corner.

Swansea
found a route through Arsenal’s defence when Davies cut in from the
left and worked a deft one-two with substitute Wilfried Bony. By
maintaining his forward momentum, Davies was perfectly placed to score.
But Arsenal held on to equal their own record of eight successive away
wins.

Top of the league: Arsene Wenger saw his charges usurp Tottenham at the head of the Premier League

Artist: But Mesut Ozil was not at his best as Arsenal won the game

Consolation: Ben Davies popped up with a late goal to give Swansea hope, but nothing more

Well taken: Davies fired home first time after a dinked ball over the top